President Andrzej DUDA: Nuclear umbrella over Poland

     In the latest issue of the influential weekly newspaper "Gazeta Polska" (October 5-11, 2022), an interview of the President of Poland Andrzej Duda, which he had given to the editor-in-chief of this publication Tomasz Sakiewicz, was published. The issue of Russian threats to use nuclear weapons in the war with Ukraine was also discussed.     The President of Poland stated that if Russia starts a nuclear war, "there will be no future for them. If even they (russia. - Ed.) manage to survive, they will be cursed in the whole world".     To the question of whether Poland should think about a nuclear umbrella in view of such threats, A. Duda answered that "the main problem is that we do not have nuclear weapons." According to the President, the Republic of Poland has a potential opportunity to participate in the US program "Nuclear Sharing" (the concept of the program involves providing NATO member countries with nuclear weapons that remain under US control).     "We are negotiating with the American leadership on whether the US is considering such a possibility. This is an open topic.     "In response to Mr. Sakiewicz`s remark that the US may look at this issue differently after everything that happened in Ukraine, President Duda emphasized that he did not rule it out. He also expressed his belief that nuclear weapons will not be under Polish control, but can be placed on the territory of Poland. "I believe that Poland will strengthen its security. This is our far-reaching goal, "Andrzej Duda said.     In the leading article of the editor-in-chief Tomasz Sakiewicz, published in the same issue of “Gazeta Polska”, it is noted that Russia's nuclear threats require the creation of a nuclear umbrella over Poland. The author expresses doubts about the unanimous position of NATO countries in the event of Russia's use of tactical nuclear weapons, taking into account the behavior of Germany and some other states during Russia's war with Ukraine. T. Sakiewicz reminds that Russia is keeping nuclear warheads in Kaliningrad (Królewiec in Polish) pointed at Poland, and NATO does not have similar weapons on Russia's borders. This situation creates a temptation for Moscow to take advantage.     T. Sakiewicz believes that the "Nuclear Sharing" program can become an introductory stage before Poland acquires its own nuclear weapons.      "Sending a strong signal of readiness to respond to a nuclear attack should be a bucket of cold water for Moscow," the editor-in-chief of “Gazeta Polska” concludes.      By Jerzy Slonevsky, columnist of the Forum     Cartoon: Rafał Zawistowski, “Gazeta Polska”